Monday, October 7, 2013

This past weekend,
Southeast Louisianans held their collective breath as Tropical Storm Karen
staggered in the Gulf. Just a little more than a year prior, massive power
outages due to Hurricane Isaac, a storm that camped out over us and rained
relentlessly, was still close to home. Overheard more than once, “Please just
don’t let the power go out.” ﻿

But Karen gave us
at the Louisiana Restaurant Association a great practice run for our emergency
operations plan. The team met on Friday morning before an anticipated weekend
landfall, reviewed the plan and the weather projections and determined that
this would likely be a less than eventful storm for the New Orleans area.
However, before the staff departed for the weekend, the building was secured,
the flag taken from the pole and the contact lists and methods of communication
were updated.

Beyond the
emergency plan for you and your team, there’s often a community need that
restaurants can fill. When hurricanes, tornados, snowstorms or other natural
disasters occur, restaurants can help bring a sense of normalcy to their
communities. Establishing a disaster communication plan establishes you as a
good corporate citizen and secures brand equity.

Such a plan helped Waffle House earn a 2012 National
Restaurant Association Operator
Innovations Award. The plan, “Keeping Food Safe during Natural
Disasters & Proactive Outreach to States,” is part of the company’s “Always
Open” culture across its 1,700 locations in 25 states. Waffle House created
relationships with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

After a
storm, FEMA surveys the community using a “Waffle House index” as a way to
measure devastated areas. Stores closed because of the storm are designated
ground zero or red alert; those with a limited menu because of power and food
shortages are considered yellow alert; and those with minimal damage and the
ability to operate fully are designated green alert.

"After a
storm, FEMA surveys the community using a “Waffle House index”

as a way to
measure devastated areas."

Here are five tips
to help you plan ahead:

·Connect with public officials when
developing your disaster-preparedness plan. Waffle House
executives reached out to regulatory and safety agencies in hurricane-prone
states, including municipal and county officials.

·Create a planning matrix. Waffle House created logistical tactics for various scenarios,
such as three to five days before a hurricane, 48 hours out, 24 hours out and
after landfall. For each stage, the plan identified store managers, operations
executives, food safety/security teams and other stakeholders.

·Create and distribute practical
toolkits. Each Waffle House store manager
receives a “storm playbook” that includes lessons learned and best practices, a
unit-opening checklist, FDA food safety guidelines for re-opening after a storm,
a service interruption and emergency checklist, and more.

·Establish procedures for before and
after the disaster. When a hurricane is imminent, Waffle
House executives contact public health and safety officials in areas likely to
be affected to resolve access issues. After a storm makes landfall, store
managers must be available at all times to ensure food safety compliance and
work with health inspectors before reopening.